Destruction of the Tea

Fed, rested and showered, it is time to venture out into Boston for one last evening excursion. I have to be up at 05:30 tomorrow to catch a train to the airport, so we’ll keep this one well-mannered, and there is nothing, in my book, more well-mannered than tea. Ok, admitedly, the history of tea in Boston is less somewhat polite than the jam-and-scone affairs that I am used to. But it also involves 18th century tall ships, and you KNOW how much I love them!

It’s less than a mile from my hostel in Chinatown to the wharf where it all went down in December 1773. Still, there’s plenty of amusing sights to be sighted along the way. Yes, I am easily amused. Particularly by America’s many tributes to my home city. Dodgy spelling and all. Hashtag Edinburgh. Emphasis on the URGH. Pronounced uruh. Thanks, though.

Some interesting architecture and urban art…

And a building filled with firemen. Perfect.

As tempting as it was to take an accidental detour and ‘get lost’ in the headquarters of the Boston Fire Department, I understood that there was a very real possibility that I wouldn’t come out again, putting my friends and family through (somewhat) unnecessary stress, and violating the terms of my visa waiver. I thus ploughed on.

Nearing the waterfront at Criffins Wharf, there is a red brick building with an informative plaque screwed to it. I was going to give you a concise history of the events that happened here, but the plaque actually summed it up quite nicely.

And there they are! The two beauties. There were three ships involved in the destruction of the tea shipment, the Dartmouth, the Beaver and the Eleanor. The two here are the authentically restored Beaver (the one nearest us) and Eleanor.

Stand by for some ship pics:

Hi Eleanor.

I seem to have neglected the poor Beaver in my photos. This is possibly because I decided that I wanted to watch the sun go down by the wharf, got myself a nice coffee and found myself a bench on the wooden waterfront promenade, and the view of Boston happened to be nicest from the side that looked on to the Eleanor. Nothing personal Beaver.

Ok, ok, here you go. Here is one from earlier of the Beaver in all her two-masted glory.

Now, as I was saying, the sun is setting, and I’m sitting on a bench facing the water, with the Boston skyline in the background.

And it’s pretty bloody beautiful.

So THANKS Boston, you’ve been supreme. And my feet hate you. But now it’s definitely time to go to bed, cause tomorrow we’re catching a plane and going to visit the mighty Niagara Falls. Pretty excited.